The
rest of the night passes slowly, punctuated by the dark mutterings of
the crew and an occasional terse tut from Mrs Briggs. The Captain
himself spends much of the night wondering if he's been played for a
fool, but the first glimmer of dawn banishes such thoughts from his
mind. He sees that his ship is safe, with Phoebe walking the deck.
When she sees him she waves, and a wave he returns, though he feels
like an idiot.
The
storm, when it comes, is as terrible as it is unexpected. They're
just about to break their fast with fresh fruit when suddenly they
are being lashed by harsh unrelenting heavy rain. A wave rolls in
from nowhere, picking up the life boat and hurling it toward the
ship. The Captain fights his way to the prow of the boat to call to
Phoebe.
“You
must weigh anchor!” he screams, pointing to the rope. “You must
weigh anchor to ride out the storm.”
He's
not sure she's understood his words when a second wave grabs their
boat, hurling them toward the ship once more. The Captain realises
the only chance of survival is to ride that wave, which they cannot
do while tethered to the ship. He quickly cuts the cord but he's too
late, the life boat smashes into the side of the ship, disintegrating
as it does.
The
crew plunge into the turbulent waters, weighed down by heavy chains.
They fight to stay afloat, but their efforts are in vein. The last
thing the Captain sees before the waters finally take him is the
broad wings of a stocky bird as it takes flight from the prow of his
ship, the Mary Celeste.
